


Phantom Thieves Forever

by Eaglefairy



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Angst, Gen, Immortality, No Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Persona 5 Spoilers, Post-Canon, Self-Indulgent, a little bit hurt no comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:13:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26169250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eaglefairy/pseuds/Eaglefairy
Summary: "We believe in you, Phantom Thieves!"  "Never stop fighting!"  "Phantom Thieves forever!"The public didn't know how true their words would ring.
Comments: 34
Kudos: 95
Collections: Skurrel's Personal Fanfic Recommendations





	Phantom Thieves Forever

**Author's Note:**

> I watched OSP's newest Trope Talk this morning before class. 2 hours later I was writing this fic. I have no excuse.  
> You can yell at me about this fic or Persona 5 in general at my [tumblr](https://eaglefairy.tumblr.com/)!

It’s 5 months after Joker shot a false god in the head to save Tokyo, and _Phantom Thieves: Unmasked_ has just been released. It’s a good documentary. Mishima was incredibly thorough in his research, helped by the fact that he has a direct line to the best primary source there is. Ohya helped him get in contact with a production company, and it took off from there. It covers every major target in great detail, and finds the time to explain at least the basics of the minor targets as well. They don’t cover any of the theories on the true identities of the Phantom Thieves and Mishima doesn’t ask any of them for interviews, so everyone agreed it was safe to release. Haru invited everyone to her mansion for a sleepover on release day, and the night was spent binging the entire series in one sitting. It’s fun to relive the experience of their year through the eyes of another, but soon enough the former Thieves move on, back to their lives in college and entrepreneurship and every plan for the future they have.

It’s a little over a year and a half after Madarame was exposed for his crimes against art, originality, and his students, and his former pupil Yusuke Kitagawa has just unveiled a new collection of pieces. They’re stunning in their artistic quality; for being portraits of people no one knows the identity of, each work in _The Phantom Thieves of Hearts_ is unabashedly certain in its depiction. Perhaps part of it is the style; in truth, they’re less “portraits” and more “impressions”. The faces are indistinct, no features visible beyond the golden-eyed masks adorning them. The real focus is given to the costumes worn by each, but even then they have a dreamlike quality, enough details given to bring the designs out of abstraction but enough left out to make it clear this is only an interpretation, hardly the definitive truth. It’s one of many works by Kitagawa that convince the art world his talent is far greater than his former teacher’s ever was, even before Madarame began stealing his art instead of creating it. The former Thieves go to the exhibition together, and they look at the paintings with a feeling of nostalgia; they loved what they did in that year, but they know they can’t go back to it. All they can do now is move on with their lives.

But how _do_ you move on from an experience like that? An experience that fundamentally changed you so greatly, that gave you a fire-forged family and left you with nothing but scars and memories you can never share with anyone but the people who were beside you through it all?

Maybe the answer is you don’t. You can’t, not really.

Six years after two boys stumbled into a castle on their way to school, the former Thieves are living their lives. Some are still in college, getting advanced degrees, while others have moved into their careers: business and law and art, to name a few. Ann Takamaki is a world-famous model and actress, renowned for her wildfire beauty. One interviewer asks, “Takamaki-san, you’ve been doing this since high school, correct?”

She nods and answers, “Yes, though I didn’t really think of it as a career until my second or third year, I believe.”

“I see! Looking back at some of your shoots from that time, it’s like you’ve hardly aged at all! Could you perhaps share your secret with our viewers?”

Ann laughs it off, makes some joke about flattery. She even slips in a promotion for a face cream she’d been paid to advertise a few months ago. But later, when the interview’s done and she’s back home, that one comment sticks in her brain. It’s not that late and she doesn’t have anything planned for tomorrow, so she finds the archives of her photoshoots and starts looking through them. She knows the signs of aging, sees them deftly covered in every makeup tutorial she watches. It’s not like there’s going to be some huge change in her face over the years she’s about to look back on; she’s still young, far too young for wrinkles or spots. But as she pulls down the first book and starts flipping through, she notices something strange. After poring over every page of every album she has, she can’t ignore it any longer: her face today looks like it hasn’t changed _at all_ since high school. She chalks it up to luck and good skin care, and tries not to think about it any more than she already has. She packs up the books and goes to bed, never noticing the glittering blue butterfly perched in the corner.

* * *

Akira still visits the Velvet Room sometimes. He’s always kept the key that Lavenza gave him, and she’s always happy to spend time with him. One day, just after visiting Iwai at Untouchable for old times’ sake, she calls out to him from the Door still in the alleyway. Intrigued, he walks over to her.

“Hello, Trickster. I hope you’ve been well?” Lavenza’s soft golden eyes still seem otherworldly to him, even after all this time.

“I’ve been great. How are you? Has anything changed in the Velvet Room?” In all the time he’s known Lavenza, Akira can’t think of any instance where she called out to him first. Something must have happened.

“Not quite. My master and I are fine; I did not intend to worry you. I simply wish to show you something, and I happened to see you were in the area of this door.” She pulls open the door behind her and beckons him through. Curious, Akira followed her.

The Velvet Room is a lot nicer when it doesn’t look like a prison. Now, it just looks like an office, with blue curtains hanging over the walls to soften the atmosphere of the Room. Lavenza leads him through one of the many doors present, and they’re not walking long until they stand before the most gorgeous vista Akira has ever seen in his life.

Fine grains of silver-white sand shift beneath his feet as he looks out over an ocean as dark as night. But the shore is hardly shadowed, for over his head millions upon millions of stars light up the sky and reflect on the endless water, with no moon in sight to outshine their brilliance. For a few minutes, all Akira can do is stand and stare at the majesty before him, but eventually, he turns to Lavenza and asks, “Where are we?”

“This is the Sea of Souls, the greatest form of humanity’s collective unconscious. This is where Personas and Shadows alike come from, but that is not what we are here to see today.” She gestures up towards the gently twinkling stars. “I assume you are familiar with the expression 'written in the stars', yes?” 

Akira only nods, unsure of where Lavenza is taking this conversation. “I figured as much. To be written in the stars in the physical world is to be honored, remembered by those here now and by those yet to come. What, then, do you believe happens to those written into the stars looking down on the Sea of Souls?”

Akira thinks he can see where this is going now, but he still cranes his head back anyway. And he sees them there, his Thieves: brave Skull, loyal Mona, ferocious Panther, talented Fox, brilliant Queen, all-seeing Oracle, and powerful Noir, all in the form of constellations. The last one he sees is himself, and while Joker’s proud smirk gazes down on them, he says to Lavenza, “I don’t know, but judging by the way you asked the question, I’m sure it’s something important.”

She giggles and responds, “You’re quite correct, Trickster. Very few people have left as strong of an impression on the collective unconscious as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. You directly changed the lives of so many people in Tokyo for the better, and you’ve inspired people all around the world to stand up for what they know is right, regardless of what authority may tell them. Beyond that, when the god of control assumed power over both the physical and cognitive worlds, he declared you all unfit to exist and erased you from existence. But your wills were strong enough to return and put an end to his reign only moments after it began. Such achievements are truly worthy of being immortalized in the cosmos of the souls of humanity.”

Akira’s breath caught. Only a few days ago, Ann had mentioned to him how her pictures all looked the same, from high school until now. He had brushed it off with her then, but Lavenza’s word choice felt too pointed to be a coincidence. “You don’t mean…”

Lavenza nodded. “I was there when Ann made her discovery, and I thought it prudent to share the truth with you before more time passes, and those you do not trust begin to notice. Your impact on the collective unconscious is so great that it has impacted you in return. You and your fellow Thieves will remain forever as you were then, your bodies never aging.” Seeing the expression on Akira’s face, Lavenza attempted to soften the blow. “I know this is unexpected for all of you, but it is not something you can avoid for much longer. Already, some are asking questions, and the volume of those questions will only grow as the years pass. It is for the best that you learn of this in full before it becomes a problem.”

Akira shook his head and looked away. How was he supposed to process this? In an instant, his entire outlook on life changed from a fundamental level. Not just his life either, but… “What am I supposed to tell the others? _How_ am I supposed to tell them that they...they…” His voice trailed off, unable to make himself say the words.

Lavenza looked down to the ground. “If you’d like, I can tell them what I’ve told you. It may be easier for them to hear it from me.” _It will be easier for me to say it than for you_ goes unsaid, but understood.

Akira nods once, tightly. “Yeah. I’ll call everyone to Leblanc tonight or tomorrow, and I’ll come get you from the Shibuya Door.”

“Very well. I am truly sorry, Trickster. I was born immortal; I cannot imagine becoming so from mortality.”

“Neither can I, Lavenza.”

* * *

The primary reaction from the rest of the Phantom Thieves is shock. That much is expected; after all, there’s not exactly a precedent for being told you’ll outlive your expected lifespan by an indefinite amount. But soon after that, the questions begin rolling in, one after another and overlapping enough that Lavenza has to raise her voice while asking for one question at a time, please.

“So, our immortality--how complete is it? Obviously, we don’t age, but can we still die to sickness or being killed by outside forces?” Makoto got her question out first, and all the eyes in the room turned to Lavenza.

“Your immortality is complete. Your resilience has increased, so it is already much harder to kill any one of you than it is to kill any other human. But even if you did manage to die, you would simply emerge from the Sea of Souls unharmed, and I would guide you back to the physical world if you wished.” Lavenza looked around the room and asked, “What? Did you believe I would not help you? I am an attendant of the Velvet Room, and proud to be such; I will assist my dear Trickster and his teammates for as long as you would have me.”

A soft smile crossed Akira’s face. “Thanks, Lavenza. I think we’ll need all the help we can get.”

“Do we get any other Thief powers in the real world? Like access to our Personas or something?” Ann’s question came next, prompting several members of the Thieves to look at Lavenza hopefully.

“I’m afraid not, sadly. All of this is based on the perception of you all in the collective unconscious. They do not know of the supernatural bent of your activities, and so you do not have those powers here. _Nor do I recommend sharing the full truth_.” Lavenza finished with a pointed look at Ryuji, who sheepishly closed his mouth and scratched at the back of his head.

“Just thought it’d be worth asking…”

“Anyway, do you have any other questions?”

The night proceeded on, with each Thief taking their turn to ask Lavenza any questions they had. Finally, when everyone’s curiosity was filled and the room fell silent, Lavenza stood from her seat.

“I hope I have been helpful in addressing any questions you had about this. If that is all for now, I shall be taking my leave.” Her eyes widened, and she continued, “Ah, I almost forgot! I will leave it to your discretion as to who to tell about your immortality. However, I do recommend keeping it on a 'need-to-know' basis.” Lavenza bowed slightly to the room at large, and headed out down the stairs to the cafe. By the time Akira got to the ground floor, he could only see the last few glimmers from the trail of the shining blue butterfly flapping away. He returned upstairs to a rather somber mood.

“What am I supposed to tell Sis…” Makoto was the first to break the silence, and once she did, the rest followed in soft voices.

“Oh man, my mom’s gonna be so worried…”

“I haven’t even told Shiho I’m a Phantom Thief, and now this?”

“Kira, what are we gonna tell Sojiro? He’ll notice eventually…”

Eventually, Akira spoke up. “This is all a lot to process; we shouldn’t make any rash decisions about it. Let’s all give it a few days, then we can come back and discuss what we’re going to do.”

The Thieves all nodded and left, one by one, until it was only Morgana and Akira left in the attic. Once Akira was in bed, with Morgana in his familiar place atop his chest, he murmured softly, “You seemed rather quiet today, during that meeting.”

Akira’s tone was gentle, but Morgana looked away nonetheless. “Yeah. This...well, of course it’s a surprise, right? But...I think…” Morgana’s words trailed off, like he was trying to think of how to express his thoughts. Then, all in a rush, he said, “I think I was immortal anyway, right? I’m the incarnation of humanity’s hope. Hope isn’t a thing that dies, not really. So I was just as shocked as the rest of you that you’re all immortal now. But now that it’s sunk in...I’m just happy I won’t be alone in the future.” The last sentence came out in a whisper, and Akira’s heart ached when he heard the guilt and relief both present in Morgana’s voice.

“Hey, hey. It’s not a bad thing to not want to be alone. No one’s going to be mad at you for being relieved you won’t have to spend eternity by yourself.” When he heard Akira’s words, Morgana’s head turned back around to look at him.

“You really think so?”

“I know so. You can ask them yourself tomorrow if you aren’t sure, but for now, let’s go to sleep. We’ll think better in the morning.”

* * *

Telling their family and friends about their newfound longevity was never going to be easy. But when she found herself looking into Sae’s disbelieving eyes, Makoto realized she may have bitten off a bit more than she could chew in trying to tell her older sister so soon.

“Please forgive me, but this is all rather...hard to take in. You’re all immortal now?” Sae’s disbelief was visible on her face, and Makoto fought valiantly against her sinking heart.

“Technically, we’ve been immortal for the past five or so years, according to Lavenza.” Sae’s frown only deepened, and Makoto quickly added, “I know it sounds unbelievable, but Lavenza has no reason to lie to us, and she wouldn’t pull a prank like this. Besides, Ann showed us her photo albums, and she really hasn’t changed! The rest of us don’t have the same kind of photo records, but I’m sure…”

Sae raised her hand, and Makoto stopped talking, waiting to hear what her sister would say. “I won’t lie. My first instinct says to not believe you. But, the more I think about it...I know you’ve never told me all of what you did as the Phantom Thieves. And I know from the interrogation plan that whatever you did, it was some kind of supernatural. So I would say it’s plausible to believe that you’re immortal now, but...is there any kind of proof you could show me?”

Makoto thought for a second, then said, “Probably not without dying, but Akira did say something about Lavenza taking him to the Sea of Souls when she explained it to him. Maybe she could do the same for you?”

Sae nodded. “We can try it, at least.”

And that’s how many of those conversations went. Disbelief, then confusion, before settling on trust that no one was lying, that this was real, that the Phantom Thieves were here to stay.

Sae did get her proof, eventually. Makoto was riding the subway one lazy summer evening when the brakes failed. Many of the people on that train died, and no one escaped unscathed. The last thing she remembered was the sound of screams and the feeling of being crushed by tons of metal, and then everything went black.

Then everything went _liquid_ , and Makoto could suddenly flail around. Concepts such as “up” and “down” felt like they were from an alien universe, but once she caught sight of a gentle glow through part of the water, she was able to swim far enough to break through the surface of the Sea of Souls. Once she caught her breath, she swam towards the white shore in the distance, where a small figure in blue was waiting for her. Once she finally got to the beach, Lavenza offered her the towel she was holding. She didn’t try to say anything, which Makoto was grateful for. Even if Lavenza had tried to ask about it, any of it, Makoto probably wouldn’t have been able to answer her. She just focused on drying off, instead; the feeling of the soft towel couldn’t be further from the hard metal that made up her most recent memories. Once she was done, Lavenza simply asked, “Are you ready to go back?”

Makoto nodded, not trusting her words. She followed Lavenza out one of the doors in the Velvet Room into the hustle and bustle of Shibuya, where Makoto did her best to ignore the emergency sirens she could hear in the distance. Her attention was quickly occupied with better things, however: all the Thieves, Sojiro, and Sae were standing in the alleyway right outside the Door. When Sae saw her, her eyes went wide, then began filling with tears. Makoto didn’t get to see how the expression changed further, because she was suddenly wrapped up in a hug. She must’ve tensed up, because Sae loosened her hold almost immediately, but her sister still kept her arms around her as Makoto hugged her back, all of a sudden trying not to cry.

“Is this enough proof?” Makoto had no idea why, out of everything she could’ve said, she tried to make a joke about her recent death, but it did startle a huff out of her older sister.

“Y-yeah. Yeah, it is.” Sae finally let go, and busied herself wiping at her eyes. “Makoto, when I heard about the crash, when I called the hospital and was told they didn’t have anyone with your name...my heart almost stopped. But it’s real, isn’t it? You died, and now you’re back.”

Makoto tried to speak, but she realized it would only come out as a sob at this point and just nodded instead. The rest of the Thieves cautiously walked up behind Sae, and Makoto rushed over to them, falling into the center of the gentlest group hug she’d ever been in. “I’m here,” she whispered. “I’m still here.”

* * *

Ten years after Shido’s calling card, it was easier to notice. The Thieves got by with makeup and outfits and expressions, all used to make themselves appear as old as they were, not as they looked. As time went by, more and more of their friends and family were let into the secret.

“Have you considered going back to being the Phantom Thieves full-time?” Mishima asked one day, while he and Akira were getting lunch. Mishima was a graphic designer now, and Akira had decided to work at Leblanc after trying out a few other jobs, but they still made time to meet up now and again.

“Not really. Why do you ask?” Akira had a feeling he already knew the answer, and his hunch was confirmed when Mishima continued.

“Well, if you all really are immortal now, there’s so much good you could do! Not just in the way you used to, either. You could--” 

Akira cut him off with a wave of his hand, then said, “First of all, we can’t change hearts the way we used to. That method was closed to us when we defeated Yaldabaoth, and none of us regret it. Believe me, we’re all still trying to do good, but our first priority is protecting ourselves. We don’t want to stand out too much, or else someone might notice something’s off.”

Mishima sighed. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense… All of this is so crazy. I don’t know how you’re all staying so calm about this. I think I’d be freaking out.”

Akira laughed. “Believe me, some days I can barely believe it myself. I’m sure it’ll feel more and more real as time goes on, though.”

* * *

It doesn’t feel real until Sojiro dies.

His old smoking habit had come back for him in the form of lung cancer. He’d lived for about four years after the diagnosis, but eventually his lungs gave out. The Thieves banded together as one to support their grieving members, but the death served as a reminder to them all that they’d never succumb to the same thing.

The years to come had more and more deaths. It felt like the population of Tokyo had turned over, so to speak; every day, the Thieves heard more familiar names in the news, heard that they’d died. And as those people left the living, the Thieves noticed themselves changing, for the first time in decades.

It happened first to Akira, as many things had. He woke up one day to find a familiar mask perched on his face, a mask he thought he’d never wear again. But this time, no matter how hard he pulled, it wouldn’t come off. Morgana took one look at his face and bolted from the attic, no doubt to get help.

He heard the bell ring downstairs, and a moment later, Morgana returned to the attic room, shortly followed by Lavenza. Akira thanked whatever powers might be that Morgana was so good at slipping on and off trains without being noticed, and quickly explained the situation to Lavenza.

“So, do you know why this happened?” He asked. “Or how to stop it? Because having this mask stuck to my face will probably make it hard to go outside without raising a lot of questions.”

Lavenza shook her head, and Akira’s heart sank. “I’m sorry, my Trickster, but I am as lost as you are. Unless…” Her eyes widened, as if she had just thought of an explanation, but she didn’t say anything.

“Unless?”

“...You have lost many of the people who were close to you during your journey, yes? It may be, now that their cognition of you as a person has been lost, all that remains is the public’s cognition of the Phantom Thief Joker.”

The three of them sat in silence after that. None of them knew how to carry the conversation after such a revelation, and none of them were exactly willing to try, either. After a long silence passed, Akira asked, “Could I...live in the Velvet Room? Or somewhere else in the cognitive world? I just...I don’t know what to do.” Something about those words felt like it was a dam breaking in his heart, and suddenly he found himself on the verge of tears.

“Of course, my Trickster. I swore I would help you always when this started, and I have no intention of stopping now. If you will be alright on your own, I will return to the Velvet Room and begin preparations.”

“Yeah...yeah. That sounds good.” Akira managed to force the words out without his voice going too wobbly, and Lavenza quietly excused herself with a sad smile. After she left, Morgana hopped up into Akira’s lap, and the two Thieves sat together for a moment.

“Remember when that girl almost discovered me on the train?” Akira jumped slightly at the sound of Morgana’s voice, but he continued without stopping. “We were with Ann and Ryuji, and they tried to convince her that I was a stuffed animal.”

The barest hint of a grin crossed Akira’s face. “They said that when someone pushed on your head, a meow would come out.” Morgana and Akira laughed together about the incident, and they spent the rest of the morning reminiscing over times long gone.

* * *

Eventually, all the Thieves ended up permanently in their Thief gear, and Lavenza helped them all settle into the Velvet Room. But none of them were happy in those blue halls, and everyone could feel it. 

One day, while Lavenza was reading in the library, she heard a knock at the door. “Come in,” she called, surprised to see all the Thieves standing in the doorway. “Was there something you needed?”

“Not quite.” Joker shook his head, and he wouldn’t meet her eyes. “We’ve been talking about it, and we decided...we’d like to leave the Velvet Room.”

“There’s so much cognitive space out there--places like the Metaverse, or that TV World you told us about.” Oracle was talking fast, as if flying through the words would make them come out easier. “We want to go explore them, fight more Shadows--you know, like old times.”

“You and Igor have been most gracious in hosting us here.” Fox spoke next, his voice rumbling out from behind his mask. “But I can speak for all of us when I say that we cannot remain here doing nothing any longer.”

Lavenza nodded. “I see.” She had been expecting this; humans were not meant to be eternal, not like her, and even if there was no longer a time limit on their lives, the Thieves had been born with it hanging over their heads. It made sense that they would never quite lose that sense of mortal urgency. “I assume that you will not be returning?”

Joker shook his head. “Probably not. We don’t know where we’ll end up, but we don’t plan to stay in one place for too long. So...I guess this is goodbye.”

Lavenza smiled softly, and stood from her chair. She bowed to the assembled Thieves, and said, “I wish you happiness on your journey. Please remember: there will always be a place for you in the Velvet Room, if you wish to claim it. Farewell, Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Farewell, my Trickster.”

“Goodbye, Lavenza-chan!”

“Bye, Enzie!”

“You take care of yourself, yeah?”

“Who knows, maybe we’ll see you on the road!”

“I’ll always remember you, Lady Lavenza!”

Once all the goodbyes and well-wishes were said, the Thieves left the Velvet Room. Lavenza smiled sadly to herself, picked up her book once more, and continued to read.

* * *

Hundreds of years passed, but the idea of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts never left the minds of the public for long. They became a modern-day fairy tale: acting forever in the name of justice, though their methods may run afoul of the darker side of the law. They were the heroes of the downtrodden, of those oppressed by a greater power. Those greater powers, in turn, always felt a trickle of fear at the back of their minds whenever someone mentioned “stealing hearts”. The people themselves were long gone from the physical world, but the Phantom Thieves of Hearts lived forever.

* * *

The cycles of the cognitive world continued. Every time an evil arose from the hearts of humanity, a Wild Card was formed to oppose it. Such was the way of the world, and Lavenza knew well the role the Velvet Room played in it.

One of those cycles had recently begun again. A new Wild Card had stumbled into a new grand, ever-changing, indescribable world of the collective unconscious, and Igor was now congratulating them on awakening to the power of Persona. Lavenza stopped just outside where they conversed, listening through the door for their conversation.

“You have done well to awaken to this power, Wild Card. Now then, show me what form your heart takes.”

“Okay then.” A clearing of the throat, a shifting of the position. Then, a confident shout:

“Come forth, **_Joker!_ **”


End file.
